


The Hero and her Beast

by Aej9611



Category: Rumbelle - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Rumbelle - Freeform, Rumbelle Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 06:28:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9059527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aej9611/pseuds/Aej9611
Summary: When Rumple once again takes the dark curse in season five, his guilt and love for Belle force him to come clean to her before going into the underworld, but will Belle forgive him?





	1. A Snake Called Guilt

**Author's Note:**

> This was for an amazing and kind person @rumbelleinthebrooke. It was such an honor being your Secret Santa, I truly hope you enjoy your gift! This is only my second time writing fanfic, but I did my best to fit our prompt of "A Happy Family."

Chapter One: A Snake Called Guilt

Warmth wrapped itself around Rumple, enveloping him in a rather comfortable cocoon. No sooner had Rumple noticed the cocoon, however, when the warmth began to dissipate and quickly turn into a suffocating heat that threatened to choke him.

Rumple’s eyes burst open and he bolted upright, panting for dear life. Dazed, he quickly took in his surroundings and scanned for a possible threat. When he found none, his eyes traveled to the woman sleeping besides him. Belle was currently rolled into a fetal position facing him, shivering no doubt from the cold that was seeping into the room.

Not wanting to wake her up, he covered her in blankets and lightly wrapped his arm around her petite frame, opting for a small kiss to her forehead. In response, she snuggled against his chest, a small smile illuminating her face.

As her breathing slowed once more, Rumple’s thoughts began to crawl in a different direction as the realization of the matter hit him hard…

Belle had come back.

Brave Belle had forgiven him. Strong Belle had chosen him over following her dreams of adventure in the great wide somewhere. Him, a poor spinner to weak for his family, a ruthless sorcerer not worthy of love, and a coward too afraid to live without magic.

Belle was only in his arms at the moment because she believed that Rumple had been selfless.

Regardless of the many times he had deceived her and chosen power, she had come back. All because in her eyes, he was a hero! But what would she do if she learned the truth?  
Belle had already pushed him away (across the town line, none the less,) after she discovered he lied to her about giving the real dagger, so there was a good chance discovering he was once again the the Dark One would most likely be the last straw for her…

He shuddered at the thought of losing Belle once more, possibly for good this time. She could never know the truth. Never. Even if he had to open the damn underworld for Emma, the so called Savior to keep her mouth shut.

His gut twisted, and he was repulsed by his own thoughts. He hated lying to Belle. He truly did want to be her brave knight in shining armor, an honest and kind person who did not depend on magic for strength. However, to be those things would be beyond impossible. Deep inside, the call for power, magic, would always be strongest.

Rumple tried to shove the thoughts away, to rid himself of guilt one more night…but just when his eyelids drooped, the guilt barreled in and flooded him. He gasped when it began to choke him once more, and he ran for the window in hopes of feeling the fresh air.

He leaned against the window and sighed, letting the cool night air chase away the heat.

But while the heat slowly receded, the guilt began to pool up, turning into a snake that slithered inside of him.  
Rumple turned to look at Belle, who was deep in a peaceful sleep with traces of a smile still on her lips.

As he gently caressed her face, he came to a realization: Belle was his true love, and she deserved the truth. Even if he was not ready to give up magic just yet, he would never be ready to let Belle go. Yet there was a chance that if he told her the truth now, he might still have a chance of making her understand.

Belle and Bae had been the two things he would sacrifice it all for, no matter whether he had magic or not.

She deserved to be happy, and Rumple realized that if he didn’t come clean to her now, he might lose his last chance to make that happen.

However, if he withheld the truth and continued to deceive her, then he had already lost his chance at making her happy.

Softly planting another tender kiss on Belle’s forehead, Rumple cuddled into her arms and shut his eyes as hard as he could.

Tomorrow, Rumple would tell Belle the truth.


	2. The Truth Is Never Pretty

Chapter 2: The Truth is Never Pretty

Belle sighed contently before stretching. As she tried to adjust to the blinding light, the smell of bacon and eggs successfully pulled her out of her sleep. Expecting Rumple to be gone helping the heroes into the underworld, a startled yelp escaped her mouth as she saw him sitting on the corner of her bed with a tray of the most scrumptious looking breakfast she had ever seen (or smelt, for that matter).

“Rumple?” she asked, confusion quickly turning into concern “What are you still doing here? Is everything ok?”

“Yes yes, everything is just fine sweetheart. The plan stands, I will still be helping Emma.” He paused, suddenly unsure how to begin explaining his…situation.

Sensing he had more to say, Belle kept silent, not wanting to rush him. His face appeared pained and hesitant, and her stomach began to churn in slow circles…

“Belle, I-” He stopped to take a deep breath. He could already hear her voice full of disappointment as she realized he was a coward and the bang of the door as she left him forever.

She took the tray from his hands and put it aside, picking up on the seriousness of the conversation. A million scenarios raced to her mind, none of them very pleasant.  
Whatever it was, it was obviously painful for Rumple, so she took his hands in hers and offered an encouraging smile.

Brown eyes stared into clear blue eyes, and Rumple knew where to begin.

“ As you know, I have been a villain for most of my life. However, I have never lost sight of what is most important to me: my family. And you, Belle, you are my family.”

She clutched his trembling hands harder as small tears began to cloud his eyes.

”I know I’ve made decisions you haven’t approved of, but Belle…”

“Just know that I love you, and that it is because of this love that I have to come clean to you about something.”

“What are you talking about?” She asked, realizing what was happening.

“Despite how strong I wanted to be, in the end, I was too weak to let go of magic.”

Belle could only stare.

“But you…you don’t have magic anymore.” She managed to finally say. Even when the words had come out of her mouth, however, deep inside, she knew that it was no longer true.

“I do,” he whispered.

“You’re…you’re the dark one again..?”

Rumple simply nodded, defeated. After processing this, Belle slowly and shakily stood up from the bed, trembling form an overwhelming amount of emotions.

Rage, sadness, betrayal, disappointment, and even fear coursed through her.

Stupid stupid stupid! How could she have been so stupid?! Of course he was the Dark One again! Why did she ever think she could ever change that?!

Because I love him, she realized, and it was happening all over again. Her heart was breaking all over.

At that moment she wanted to yell. She wanted to scream. She wanted to be strong. Yet when she opened her mouth, no voice came. She had lost not only Rumple, but herself as well in the process of making him see the light. Her head spun in circles, and her legs gave out beneath her.

“Belle!” Rumple immediately reached for her, placing a firm hand on her waist to help her up.

She recovered and pushed his help aside, standing up to meet his eyes.

“I believed in you, I believed in the man behind the beast…” she managed in a broken voice. “I…I loved him.”

“Belle,” Rumple began, “you didn’t fall in love with the man behind the beast. You fell in love with the man and a beast.”

Belle shuddered at how convinced Rumple sounded. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped short. There was no point. It was…it…it was over.

She moved to tie her robe, making her way out of the room before the dam behind her eyes burst.

“Belle!” Rumple called, desperate for anything.

Belle paused near the door and looked back. She took one last look at that crooked nose of his, the hair she had loved to rake her fingers through, his soft and ever so kissable lips, and finally, her final destination, those perfect milk chocolate eyes of his.

“I truly did love you.” She offered. “But I can’t…oh Gods, I can’t do this again Rumple. I don't have the emotional stamina to go through this all over.”

Gold began to move towards the door until Belle reached up to stop him.

“I’m sorry,” she managed, the dam behind her eyes cracking. She took off her rings and set them on the table.“I’m sorry”

And with those words she fled, not caring that she was still in her bathrobe. Not caring in the least the scene she would cause should someone see her running barefoot and wearing nothing but a robe from Gold’s house. Not caring that her heart was no longer in her chest, but instead broken and scattered.


	3. The Man in the Beach

Chapter 3: The Man in the Beach

Belle ran all the way to her library, only tripping a total of two and a half times (she had managed to catch herself halfway the third time).

She prayed Rumple hadn’t followed her, or even worse, magicked himself into the library. Once she reached her small kingdom, Belle collapsed against the doors and allowed herself to burst, too exhausted both emotionally and physically.

She hated how utterly weak and helpless she felt. Were she a little stronger, maybe she would have stood her ground and calmly spoken to Rumple, or rather, Rumpelstiltskin, she corrected herself.

But if she was being completely honest with herself, nothing felt real anymore. She felt numb. Not 24 hours ago she had come back to Rumple-Rumpelstiltskin thinking he had been a hero. By the Gods, they had made love!

And yet, it had all been a lie. Or maybe it hadn’t, she didn’t know anymore. As of now, nothing was certain for Belle.

She sat against the door and cried until her eyes shut themselves down and she fell into a deep sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A piercing light invaded her eyelids and she moaned as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. A breeze swept her body, and a the smell of the sea invaded her nose.

Belle began to think it had all been a dream until her feet made contact with sand-really warm sand. Her eyes burst open and she took in her surroundings, gasping at the beautiful sight around her.

Unlike Storybrooke, where it was a common occurrence to have little sunlight, this place was flooded with bright light. The yellowish sand looked clean and was very warm, while the clear ocean matched the blue of her eyes.

Her exploration of the beach stopped short when she spotted a figure crouching down where the tide met the sand, his feet in the direct path of the water. His jeans were rolled up to his calves and his short hair swayed slightly with the wind. Something about him rang extremely familiar with Belle, and before she could think it over, she slowly approached the man.

Before she could reach him the stranger spoke up.

“I have always loved the beach.I happen to find the waves very calming.”

Her heart leapt to her throat, the stranger was-

“Actually, I came to this very beach once, after I had to leave Emma. It helped me gain some peace.”

Balefire turned and offered a smile at her, patting the sand next to him.

Belle was silent as she approached him and crouched down, looking out towards the crashing waves.

“I always thought to myself ‘if I had a chance, I would bring Emma to this very beach and maybe even raise a family here.’ You can see how that turned out.”

She squeezed his shoulder comfortingly as she wondered what was happening.

“You know, it’s too late for me, but you and my papa, you still have a chance.”

Her chest constricted painfully at the mention of Rumpelstiltskin, and she dipped her hands in the water.

“I really don’t think so Bae,” she quietly revealed. “He…he isn’t ready to let go of dark magic, and frankly, I’m too broken to try again. I can’t forgive him.”

“Oh believe me, I understand. You know my story Belle, you know what his curse did to our family.”

Belle could only nod in agreement.

“However, you also know what he was willing to do to get me back. When it comes down to it, you know he’s capable of sacrificing himself for the people he truly loves.”

“You’re defending him?”

“No, I’m simply trying to point out that maybe he was trying to be a hero in his own way, even though sometimes it wasn’t the right way. Magic has alway been the one thing that allows him to have control, and in his eyes, power and control are the only ways of protecting what’s truly important for him; his family.”

“But it corrupts him! I know he needed magic to find you, but once he did, he never let it go! Even after he became a hero, he still chose dark magic.”

“That he did, and like I said, I’m not trying to defend or justify him. All I’m saying is that my papa is a very complicated person,” he turned towards her, “and trying to change him into a hero by forcing him to strip himself of his addiction has already proven not to work.”

She looked down in shame as she realized what he was saying. While this had not been her aim, she really did think that his attraction to dark magic would fade if Emma succeeded in turning him into a hero.

“I know you’re a very kind person who always sees the best in everyone, but sometimes, being a hero might not come in the style of a classic fairytale.” It was his turn to comfort her, “Heroism comes in different shapes and sizes, you just have to be open to seeing the little acts of heroism that make someone a true hero.

“But, like I said,” he continued, “what my papa did was wrong. You’re right to want to end that relationship. Yet…”

She looked up at him with pleading eyes, waiting to hear him finish that sentence.

“You don’t want to?”

She took a while to respond, trying to find an answer to that question.

“I... I should. I should want to end the relationship, to mend on my own life, to move on. I’ve tried so very hard to change him, but it’s impossible. In the end, he will always chose magic. Always.”  
“You should, but you don’t?”

“Bae, even if I didn’t want to end the relationship, I couldn’t survive trying and failing again. I have to find myself again and pick up the pieces. I’m strong enough to leave now, even though it hurts. But if I give him another chance and he doesn’t change, I’m not sure I’d survive then.”

“Ah, that’s the tricky part. Trying to change someone, especially someone as complicated as my papa, has never worked. When you have an image of what what you want someone to be and you start pushing them to become that, even if they desperately need the change or the change is justifiable, it still never works. You can’t turn someone into something they’re not.”

“I don’t want him to change who he is, of course I wouldn’t expect that from Rumple. I love him just as he is, I simply wanted him to chose me over magic. I wanted him to be strong enough to stop depending on dark magic. At the very least, I didn’t want to feel like a pawn in his games, even if he didn’t mean to make me feel like one. He kept me in the shadows for so long, never telling me the truth-the full truth. It’s a horrible feeling…especially since the basis of our love, our very marriage had been trust. When he proposed to me, giving me the dagger had been the ultimate promise of trust between us. I didn’t want the dagger, of course, I didn’t feel worthy, but I still couldn’t help but feel so lucky that Rumple and I had finally reached that point in our relationship. To find out out that he was playing me all along with a fake dagger while scheming behind my back, that hurt more than anything else.”

They crouched in silence for another minute, neither speaking. At last, Bae stood up and offered her his hand.

“Come, I want to show you something.”

She took his hand and followed him, her curiosity taking control As they walked their surroundings shifted, until what was once a beach now appeared to be a forest. A shabby and worn down hut stood directly in front of them, and Bae motioned Belle to enter.

“Don’t worry, you’re invisible, nobody will see you.”

She followed directions and entered, gasping at the scene in front of her. Young Rumple sat next to an older man-his father, she realized. The boy had been begging for food, and Belle’s heart broke out for him. However, instead of providing him with something to eat, Pan put down the drink in his hand and stood up, towering over Rumple. Raising his big and sweaty hand, Belle realized what was going to happen and jumped in front of young Rumple, only to have Pan’s meaty hand go right through her and strike the boy. It all happened very quickly after that. The scene changed; suddenly, Belle could see flashes of the pain and humiliation Rumple had lived through all of his life as he dedicated entire centuries to find Bae. While not all, enough of Rumple’s life was revealed to her, and the magnitude of the pain he had endured caused by his father, Milah, Hook, Cora, and everyone else in his life surfaced. By the end of the spectacle, Belle was left speechless and sobbing.

So much pain. So much suffering. Yet no hero had been there for him. Not when Milah had left, not when he was humiliated, not when his son was called for the war, and not when he was fighting for the survival of his son.

Suddenly, Belle began to understand why he had taken the Dark Curse on. He was forced to be his own hero (as well as Bae’s) the only way he could.

The magnitude of the matter hit her: A poor spinner had taken on a the role as the Dark One just to save his son. She had known this before, but why was this hitting her so hard now?  
She shakily stood up and remembered Bae had been by her side and turned, only to appear back at the beach. He was looking directly at her, a sad expression on his face.

“Belle, I know that sometimes the past does not justify the future. What I showed you doesn’t change the fact he lied to you and kept the curse even after he didn’t need it. Just know he will always love you, and that whatever decision you make, I will be there by your side.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve been there. Just make sure you decide with your heart, trust me, it’s harder than you think.”

They embraced, and Belle couldn’t help herself. “I love you Baelfire, I know we didn’t have much time, but your father loved you so much, and I couldn’t help but love you too.”

“I love you too, thank you for helping my papa see the light, even if it didn’t work out.”

When Belle opened her eyes, she was back on the floor of her library.

It had all been a dream, a topsy turvy crazy dream. Regardless, Belle now understood everything a little better. 

Nobody had been there for Rumple, even when he needed a hero the most. It was time someone was finally there to save him one final time.

Belle would finally be the hero she always wanted to be, but most importantly, Rumple would finally have have a hero to save him from himself. After all, maybe the way he was it wasn’t a question of her or magic, it was a question of magic in order to be strong enough for her.

Yes, what he had done was not right, and yes, she was hurt. But if they didn’t talk now, if she didn’t try a different strategy to help him, then she would fail the man behind the beast. And while he was right and she did love both the man and the beast, she would be damned if she gave up on the man and let the beast go rampant.

Oh yes, it was time to to save Rumple. Operation Knight-in-shining-scales was under full operation. 

She only hoped she wasn’t too late.

She reached up to wipe her tears, suddenly noticing she was clutching something tightly in her hand.

It was a seashell, and on it was carved the word Bae.


	4. Operation Knight-in-Shinning-Scales

Chapter 4: Operation Knight-in-Shining-Scales

Belle ran all the way to the spot where the heroes would travel into the underworld, gasping for air as the freezing cold air reached her lungs.

She could do it, she could save her true love one more time. Memories of their time together rushed to her head, and she smiled as she remembered their first time meeting each other. Belle had been so afraid at the time, that it took her some time to actually see the man behind the beast. She remembered dropping the porcelain cup, falling off of the ladder, learning about his son, being sent away. She remembered the relief she had felt when she saw him again for the first time in Storybrooke and love she had felt on their wedding day as they said their vows.

With these thoughts she ran faster and faster, until at last she reached her destination. Ignoring the pain in her chest she frantically looked around, eager to find Rumple.

“Rumple?!” She called out frantically, her smile slowly dissolving.

She was too late, they had already gone to the underworld.

“I came back…” she whispered, hugging herself tightly and falling on her knees.

Whelp, it looked like she would have to go rescue her beau in hell, not matter how hard that would prove to be. She wouldn’t give up though, not without a fight.

Just when she was about to stand up however, a hand reached down to touch her shoulders.

Belle yelped and staggered to her feet, immediately turning around.

“Belle?” a husky voice with traces of an accent inquired.

“Rumple?!” As soon as Belle laid her eyes on her husband, she wasted no time in enveloping him in a hug.

“Belle, what are you doing here?!”

“I came to look for you! But what are you still doing here?! I thought you were taking the heroes to the underworld?”

“I did, I just didn’t go with them…Belle I stayed to come look for you.”

“You…you did? Why?”

“I didn’t want to end things like this Belle, I couldn’t go until we at least talked about what happened." He paused and wondered at the reason as to why she had come for him. "Why were you looking for me though?”

Belle cupped her hands around Rumples face and offered him a smile, her eyes gentle yet alight with a fierce passion he had grown to associate her with. A passion that made Belle the brave woman she was. 

“To save you.” She answered firmly. 

“Save me? From what?” now Gold was really confused. 

“Yourself. I’m going to save you from yourself.”

She took his hands and pulled him closer. “Rumple…I know things are complicated right now. We’ve both done things that we regret, but I want to try and make it work. I can’t-no, I won’t give up on us.”

He stared at her shocked in disbelief, not quite believing what he was hearing.

“I love you, and I’m sorry if I pressured you to be someone you weren’t. I just…I was afraid of losing you to magic. You were right, I fell in love with both the man and the beast, but I cannot let you destroy the man inside of you just because you feel weak and believe he isn’t worthy of having love.”

Tears began to form in Rumple’s eyes and he held on to Belle for dear life.

“I know that magic plays a big role in your life. As much as I hate it, some part of you will always belong to the Dark One. But maybe someday…someday I can learn to accept that. It’s just…it hurt that you always seemed to choose magic over me, especially because you hurt yourself in the process. Like you said, all magic comes with a price, and yours was destroying the man inside of you.”

“Oh Belle, I will always chose you over magic, it’s just hard for me to stop depending on something that’s given me control over the protection-”

“-of those you love. I know. And that’s why I want to be there for you. I want to start all over with you. A clean beginning. One where there’s trust between us and you don’t have to rely on dark magic to protect us or be happy.”

She kept going when he did not respond.

“I know you’re going to face tough situations where you’ll be tempted to use magic for evil. There will come a time when it’s going to be so simple to just magic away your problems. And while I won’t try to control you, I want you to trust me enough to let me in and help you with your problems. I know I can’t stop you from using magic, and I won’t, not anymore. But I also don’t want to feel like another pawn in your games.”

“But you’re not, you were never a pawn.”

“Well that’s definitely how I felt when you didn’t confide in me and instead continuously deceived me.“

There was silence between them as their words sunk in and Rumple began to realize how hurt Belle had felt from the moment the real dagger had been revealed. She was right, breaking her trust and not confiding in her-even if he thought she wouldn't approve of his methods or reasons to carry out his plots-was unacceptable, especially since they were newlyweds at the time. 

“Oh Belle, can you forgive me? Not just for lying to you, but for all of this?”

“I can…Listen, I’m willing to give this relationship one last chance, but we both have to seriously commit to it.”

The silence stretched out between the for what seemed like centuries, and for one heart-wrenching moment she thought he would say no. Instead, Rumple swept her into a hug that progressed into a kiss.

“I would be honored to try again Belle. For you, I would try a thousand times.”

He reached out for another kiss when he felt Belle let out a giggle. 

"What's so funny dearest?"

She giggled even more and reached in to hug Rumple, digging her fingers in his soft hair and raking them across his scalp. 

"Oh nothing, it's just that Operation Knight-in-Shinning-Scales was more successful and a lot quicker than I anticipated."

Rumple stared at his wife in wonder and amusement, his crooked smile making Belle's own smile grow. Oh how he had missed her. 

"I mean, I was also thinking about Operation Knight-in-Skin-Tight-Leather," she revealed, "But I thought the first one would be a little more appropriate in case I needed other agents to join the mission..."

His amused smile quickly turned mischievous, "I knew you loved my leather pants!"

"Couldn't keep my eyes off!"

They both shared a laugh and hugged, relieved beyond measure at the turn of events. They went in for another kiss, this one setting them ablaze amidst the cold wind that was sweeping across the not so quiet little town called Storybooke.


	5. And On We Go

Chapter 5: And On We Go

Two weeks later:

The following nights had been, simply put, beautiful. While the awkward couple were shy to once again explore each other the first couple of days, that had quickly changed on the fourth night.

The tension that had threatened to overwhelm both Belle and Rumple had melted into wordless apologies that began to mend the cracks in their marriage. Tender kisses had expressed what words could not, and each gentle caress had brought the couple into a deeper love-struck trance. That night for the first time in a very long time, the man with the shadow of a beast was not afraid to close his eyes, for he could finally sleep in the arms of his brave hero. And the beauty, well, let’s just say she was right in taking one more chance on her beast.

The couple had agreed that tomorrow they would start a new chapter in their lives. A happy chapter in their lives.

They had spoken about their new beginning and had agreed that one of the recurring problems was the people they were surrounded with. Although Belle defended the heroes, even she came to realize that most of the times the heroes never cared for what happened to either of them. Their problems often caused new tensions in their relationship, and perhaps it was time to start somewhere else, preferably away from Storybrooke. While Gold had opted for New York, Belle opted for a sunny place close to the water. And so, after they packed their bags and payed Bae’s grave one last visit, they made love one last time in a town where they shared a deep history.

That following morning, as Belle and Gold stood hand in hand at the very edge of the town line after drinking the potion Rumple had made, they each let go of the past to make way for their future. A future both hoped would be a happier and more successful attempt at love than their past. And as the perfectly maintained Cadillac slowly made its way across the town line, Belle clung tightly to the small seashell with one hand and squeezed Rumple’s hand with the other.

At last, Belle and Gold would get a real chance at having a happy family.


End file.
